Forgive What I Have Made
by theinfamouswordsmith
Summary: The Survey Corps still hasn't recovered from the loss of most of their members. In an attempt to keep Eren alive after the destruction he caused inside Wall Sina, Central has sent a Corporal from the Military Police in an attempt to teach Eren how to control his emotions. Set after the end of the anime.
1. The Wind Against the Rain

The cold of morning had settled across the Legion base and into the bones of its inhabitants.

There was an emptiness in the echoes of the stone halls. Everyone went about their chores, as they did every day. Eren and Jean fed the horses, their usual banter fallen silent. Mikasa sat silently, staring at the same page of the maneuver book over and over again, unable to comprehend. Armin worked quietly alongside Hanji, who had little to say even when they went over the basic concepts of Titan biology.

Levi walked along the beds of the infirmary, forcing himself not to limp. His ankle wasn't broken, it was just sprained. If that reckless girl would just _listen_ instead of jumping headlong into anything that brat was involved in, this never would have happened in the first place. He hadn't seen much of either of them in the last few weeks. The entire Survey Corps was a disaster ever since Hanji had taken over as commander when Erwin was taken into custody by the military police. He sneered at the thought. The least the royal government could have done when they forced him to take a higher leadership role was promote him, but instead he was stuck as a corporal.

Whoever thought Hanji was the best choice to lead this group had something seriously wrong with them. It wasn't that he wanted the job – what he wanted was Erwin back where he belonged – but Hanji would get everyone killed with her Titan-loving nonsense.

That is, everyone who wasn't dead already.

Levi cracked his neck, shrugging the thought off. He couldn't afford to think about that. With Erwin gone, _someone_ had to see to it that discipline didn't disappear, and it wasn't going to be four-eyes. He reached a gloved hand out and ran two fingers along a mantlepiece, making a disgusted grimace at the dust that appeared. Two weeks and everything was already going to hell.

He found his way into the dining area just as Hanji and Armin walked in. The rising sun was lifting spirits a bit, but the specters of their losses were far from gone. He took a cup of coffee and sat down, removing his jacket and giving the room a bored glance. Nothing of note was happening – Eren and Jean were arguing again, Mikasa was watching them carefully, Sasha was perched like a bird eating everything in sight. Levi didn't care, as long as they weren't making a mess or killing one another.

He was startled by Hanji slamming herself down across from him.

"Levi, guess what?"

"No."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Killjoy. I just got a message from Central; they're sending someone down. They're going to work with you and Yeager."

"No." Levi didn't even look at her. "Tell Central I don't give a shit about their help. If they want to help me, they can get Erwin out of jail so I don't have to handle these greenhorns screwing up our system."

"Well, it's really not up to me, Corporal Grumpy." Hanji replied. "She should be here any minute. They sent a runner ahead to give us fair warning, but you're going to have to deal with it."

The sound of someone dismounting and tying their horse echoed from outside.

"Tch. I don't need help with Yeager."

"She's from the Military Police, Levi." Hanji gave him the most stern look she could manage. "Please at least pretend to care."

"Oh, like I need some coddled pencil-pusher from the interior to help handle a titan. I have everything covered. If he screws up, I cut him out. Does Central really think I can't handle one titan? I have a higher kill count than anyone else in the army, let alone our division. She's probably never even seen one in the flesh."

There was a clang as someone dropped a pair of personal knives on the table.

"I'm not here to help _you, _Corporal." Levi glanced up. "I'm here to help JYeager."

She was small, tiny even. She couldn't have been more than seven years younger than him, judging from her rank, but she looked about thirteen. Her blonde hair was bobbed and spotless as her uniform. She refused to look at either Levi or Hanji, instead choosing to examine her perfectly manicured nails with a look of disdain.

"Well excuse me if I don't want help from the Military Police." Levi snarled. Hanji gave him a warning look. "Who the hell are you to think you can handle titans better than me?"

"My name is Lydia Montgomery." She flicked a piece of dirt out from under one nail. "You can call me Corporal. What I think about your ability to handle titans is inconsequential. Apparently, Central thinks you need help."

"Well then, they should have sent someone who knew what they were doing."

Lydia looked up, matching Levi's glare with a look of boredom. "I made it to second in my trainee class. I'm proficient. I'm not even here to fight titans."

"Right. You used all your training and fire to defend humanity and threw it into living as far away from the titans as you possibly could. Really brave there, Lydia."

Her stare turned icy. "It's Corporal Montgomery to you, _Levi_. And you're exactly right. Why would I throw away a perfectly good life in order to stare down some monster for what, bragging rights? You people haven't gotten anywhere in years. In fact, since Jaeger plugged that hole,you're back to where you started – nowhere at all." She went back to staring at her nails. "I never felt like being someone's lunch."

Hanji cleared her throat. "So, Montgomery, what exactly are you here to do?"

"I'm going to be training Jaeger to control his emotions and through that, his transformation." Lydia looked up at Hanji. "I actually won't be needing Corporal Levi's help, so if you could ask him to kindly fuck off, that would be great."

Levi's muscles tensed. "He's my soldier. They're my squad. Whatever you do with them, I have the final say."

"I don't take orders from a sewer rat." Lydia spat.

Levi slammed his hands on the table, jumping to his feet. Hanji grabbed his wrist. "Okay, I think that's enough. Corporal Levi, how about you go practice 3D maneuvering with Ackerman and Kirstein and I'll introduce Corporal Montgomery to Yeager."

Levi balled up his fists and cracked his neck. Before he could walk past her, she grabbed his upper arm. "I'm going to say this only once, _Heichou,_" she hissed. "My job is to read people and manipulate them. If you even think about crossing me, I'll tell Central Yeager's not worth our time. You want to keep your kid alive, you do what I say."

Levi jerked his arm out of her grip and stormed over to Mikasa's table. "Ackerman. Kirstein. Outside. _Now._"

He didn't need this. He wouldn't put up with this. If Hanji thought he was going to deal with that bitch, she was about to get a serious shock.

**Hello! First story after a five-year hiatus! Please let me know what you think. I appreciate every one of you!**


	2. Strange Myths of Souls

THWACK

A slice of simulated titan flesh flew into the air, nearly hitting Jean in the face.

"God, watch where you're going!" Jean barely dodged another slice.

Levi stopped just long enough to say "How about you try keeping up, Kirstein?" before zipping back between two trees and charging for another set of mock giants. This was pointless, a waste of his time and talent. He should be in there, with that Military Police idiot, making sure she didn't screw everything up any more than she already had. Instead, Hanji had sent him outside to do the equivalent of busywork with two kids who didn't have the first clue about what they were doing.

That wasn't entirely true. Ackerman – Mikasa – was incredibly talented, maybe even more talented than Levi himself. She was also reckless, impulsive, and obsessed with protecting Yeager, so she didn't really hold a candle to his detached prowess. Kirstein was fast, but not fast enough. He handled maneuver gear well enough, but he wasn't flawless.

"Heichou, aren't you supposed to be teaching us?" Mikasa hung in front of him, forcing him to stop before he slammed both of them into a tree. "I need to learn how to spin like you did on our last mission."

"Then practice it." He went to swing past her, but she put out a sword.

"I need to see you do it. As soon as you explain it to me, I'll do it."

"You saw it on the last mission."

"You were too fast, I couldn't – " Levi zipped past Mikasa, dispatching six mock titans in one smooth movement. She scowled. "Why do I even try?"

Jean swung over next to her. "I don't know. He's impossible. I don't know what Commander Hanji was thinking, sending us out here with him." He glared at the diminishing figure toward the horizon. "He's never going to teach us anything. We might as well be asking a statue for help."

Mikasa perched on a tree branch, studying Levi intently. "I'm worried about Eren."

"Of course you are." Jean groaned. "You're just as bad as he is sometimes."

"You have to know that's the reason we were sent out here." Mikasa didn't bother turning over to Jean. "Hanji thinks we'll interfere with the new officer's interactions with Eren. Didn't you hear her and Captain Levi arguing?"

"Unlike you, I don't spend every waking minute keeping tabs on Yeager's every move." Jean stretched and yawned. "This is pointless. I'm going back."

"Don't even think about it." Jean nearly fell off the tree branch, startled by Levi's voice behind him. "Hanji's wasting my time training you two. You aren't getting out of this. Now go kill a titan or something."

What an insipid job. If these two were going to get eaten, there was nothing he could do. Their last mission had made that painfully apparent. No matter how good they were or how much he trained them, it was just a matter of time before they disappeared like everyone else.

He realized that Mikasa hadn't moved. "Ackerman! Are you deaf? I told you to go kill one of those fake-ass titans!"

"I'm waiting to be taught how to spin." She maintained a calm expression, seemingly nonplussed by his demands. "You moved fast enough that Annie couldn't harden her skin in time. I should know how to do that."

"You don't need to know how to do that." Levi hung from the branches, his feet planted against the trunk. "It's not something that I can teach you."

"You don't want to teach me." Mikasa prepared to jump. "I'm more worried about Eren than you are, so I'd suggest you pull it together before you do something stupid."

Levi was almost in shock as she leaped from the branch and attempted to spin into one of the wooden training models up ahead. She slipped a little on the landing, but she was getting there. What he couldn't believe is that she would speak out of turn to him like that. In retrospect, it wasn't like he hadn't had it happen before – she had called him out for not protecting Eren during the mission to capture the female titan – but the fact that she'd assume he was as worried about Jaeger instead of angry at the intrusion Montgomery brought was unsettling. He wasn't attached to the kid. He repeated again in his head. He couldn't get attached to the new recruits, no matter how protective he felt of them. After all, Mikasa's overprotective attitude is what nearly got her killed the last time.

* * *

Armin tried not to stare at the birdlike figure of Montgomery Heichou. She was smaller than Levi Heichou and built like Christa – lean and reminiscent of spun glass. However, the look in her ice-blue eyes was anything but fragile as she studied Eren intently.

"... is there anything I can do for you, Heichou?" Eren asked, clearly uncomfortable under her probing stare.

"You have beautiful eyes, Yeager." She was so intent, Armin was sure it was sincere. "They're so... green. Your parents must have been very happy with you."

"Um, thank you?" Eren pulled his arms around his chest. "... are my eyes important to what you're trying to do?"

"I believe you can learn a lot about a person by looking at their eyes." Lydia took a deep breath, finally giving them a break from her examination. "You can understand motivations, the deepest reasons for their actions."

She shifted from the balls of her feet to sitting crosslegged on the bench. "I'm here to help you control your transformation into your titan form. You showed a remarkable amount of control for a while the last time you fought, but you've transformed accidentally too often for Central to ignore."

"So you're my therapist?" Judging by how confused Armin felt, Eren was probably completely lost. He wasn't sure if Montgomery was being ambiguous on purpose or if she just assumed they would follow her thought process.

Heichou scoffed. "Hardly. I'm a behavioral analyst from the Military Police. Yeager, it was either this or the firing squad. My job is to figure out what makes you tick and figure out how to start and stop it on command."

Well, that sounded a lot more menacing. "Will it hurt?" Eren interjected. "The experiments you're going to do, I mean."

"God, Yeager, you're really as dense as they told me." Heichou looked away from him and at her fingernails. "Commander Hanji is the one who does physical titan experiments. I really don't give a shit about what you turn into. It's going to frustrate you, that's for sure – you're such an external person, I doubt you know that much about what's going on in here." She tapped Eren's head lightly and he jerked back. "Here's what's going to happen. We're going to go to the basement every day, and starting with physical awareness I'm going to teach you self-control. It'll make you a better fighter."

She turned around, still speaking. "And since Hanji is your new commander, I'm pulling another new recruit up here for help." She turned to Armin. "What's your name, Aryan babydoll?"

"Armin?" Eren asked before Armin could even answer. "Won't that be dangerous? I don't want to hurt him."

Heichou turned back to Eren. "If we're going to get along, there is something I need you to remember."

"What?"

"I am always in control of the situation."

Armin didn't doubt her. She was so meticulous in appearance and in the way she revealed information that it was clear she had a goal in mind, although apparently she wasn't interested in sharing that information with him. This would prove an interesting experience.


	3. The Needle Trembles

"Come with me." Montgomery Heichou stood to her feet, motioning for Eren to do the same. She pointed at Armin. "You too, Armin. We're going downstairs."

She led them through the winding tunnels of the castle in silence, finally walking into a large stone room with a packed dirt floor. "Here we are. Welcome to the hard part of training."

Heichou pulled off her shoes and neatly leaned them up against one of the walls. When Armin tried to walk in without doing the same, she glared at him. "Shoes. Off. Both of you." She turned, using her torch to light the others in the room. "We don't wear shoes in here. Yeager, take off your maneuver gear too."

Once they had complied, she gestured for them to come to the middle of the room. "Sit."

Mimicking her lotus posture, Armin sat down facing her. He was, admittedly, intensely curious as to what exactly they were going to be doing. He knew that Hanji had been interested in finding out what Eren's titan form was capable of, but if Corporal Montgomery wanted Eren to turn into a Titan, Armin had yet to know anything about it.

"Okay, before we get started, let me explain what's going to happen." Corporal quickly looked over both of them, seeming to check them against some invisible standard. "Today we're going to practice a technique called grounding, which I'll explain in more detail in a minute. A lot of this stuff you should have gone over in basic." Armin and Eren nodded in unison. "Good. This space," she gestured to the room around them, "is a unique place. In here, there are special rules you have to follow. The first rule I've already told you – no shoes. In order to best understand your surroundings, you should stay in contact with the ground as much as possible. The ground is your most trustworthy ally, do you understand?"

Before they could reply, she continued. "Second, no maneuver gear – at least for you, Eren . For today, you can keep yours on, Armin. The more you have weighting you down, the harder it is to mind your surroundings. I wear mine because I've been doing this for a long time. Third, this isn't formal or military. I need you to be relaxed. Don't bother with ranks or salutes. For this purpose, you can call me Dia. Is everything clear?"

She looked at Armin, clearly expecting an answer. "Yes, ma'am – I mean, yes, Dia."

"Finally, I want you – both of you – to know I'm not here to hurt Eren. On the contrary, I think he represents an amazing possibility for humanity. I really have nothing against most people here, I swear. I'm only here to help you, Eren."

"Then why did you get into a fight with Levi Heichou?" Armin shot Eren a warning look, but as usual there was no stopping him. "Why would you make him angry if you're only here to help us? He's humanity's strongest, right? Doesn't he represent just as much of a possibility as I do?"

Dia took a deep breath. It seemed to Armin that she was attempting to stay in control of herself rather than let her emotions get the best of her. "Levi doesn't even approach your potential. Although he's currently unparallelled as a titan combatant, former cadet Ackerman is set to surpass him sooner than anyone could have expected. The idea of a titan fighting on the side of humanity could turn the tide of this struggle, do you understand?"

"We do," Armin answered before Eren got the chance to argue any longer. "We understand Eren's potential and position as an ally of humankind. Please continue."

"The two of you will be working with me five hours a day, five days a week. We'll all work together during the morning hours; after lunch, I'll work with Armin -"

Eren stopped her again. "Five hours a day? How will I do the work I need to do for my squad if I'm here all day? I have to practice my maneuver gear, and Levi heichou gave me a lot of chores to do, plus it's my job to feed the horses with Jean every morning."

"Eren, I'm sure Dia's thought of that." Armin spoke in a low voice, trying to get Eren to stop interrupting. "You need to pay attention, okay? It's not like when we were in school, I can't give you my notes on this."

Eren said nothing, so Dia continued. "So Armin and I will go over some theory together, and then Eren will join us. I'll be working one on one with Eren, but Armin will be my research assistant on this. Eren, use him as your knowledge bank when I'm not around. Of course, either of you are free to come to me if you need any help."

Dia rested her hands in her lap as she continued. "As I said, we'll work together five hours a day. The first two days, we'll do theory. This might be boring for you, but it's very important. Once you're in control of your body, it stands to reason you'll be in control of your titan."

"The next two days, we'll practice whatever we're learning. Like I said earlier, this week, we're learning to ground. And since I know this is going to bore you, Eren, just remember that on the last day, I'll teach you how to fight."

"I already know how to fight." Eren seemed skeptical. Armin could practically see his attention slipping away. "We learned in training."

Dia's face turned stony. "Yeager, look at my face." Eren looked over. "Do you want to die?"

"... no?"

"Was that a question? Because by all means, if there is any doubt in your mind, continue ignoring what I'm trying to tell you." Dia leaned forward, her glare turned icy. "The only reason you aren't dead, titan boy, is because I agreed to come train you. I am the only thing standing between your head and the barrel of a Military Police gun. Is that _crystal_ clear?"

Armin was pretty sure Eren's astonished look was enough of an answer. "I think we've got it, thanks."

"Good. Pay attention." She stood to her feet, and it seemed to Armin that she was struggling to keep her balance. "I don't have a lot of time. Stand up. We're going to go over grounding."

Eren hopped up and Armin followed. Dia stood with her feet shoulder-width apart and her arms in close to her body. "Grounding is the basic idea of any martial art. You have to be completely aware of your body in order to use it completely. So plant your feet and let the energy flow up from the ground through your whole body."

Armin was trying to get his feet in order, but Eren just seemed frustrated. "This doesn't make any sense. It's pointless. When I'm a titan, my feet don't touch the ground anyway. I'm up in the neck, at least ten meters away from land."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't ask about where you were during a transformation." Dia remained remarkably calm. Considering her earlier outbursts, Armin had expected her to be just as harsh with them as she had been with Levi. "Eren, I know this is meaningless to you right now, but it's very important. Look at Armin – he has it down."

Armin hardly had it down. He had mimicked Dia's posture, but he felt unsteady and out of place. It seemed to have convinced Eren, as he had stopped arguing and assumed a similar stance.

"Good. Now copy me. Breathe out and bend as far forward as you possibly can, keeping your arms close to your body and relaxed. Then, as you breathe back in, straighten up and raise your hands up above your head, palm to palm." She demonstrated, dropping low enough to touch her head to her knees before straightening up again. "You can grab your knees or ankles if you need to, but don't let your arms hit the ground."

Armin and Eren tried to copy, although neither come close to her flexibilty. Armin had to admit he could understand where Eren was coming from – he didn't quite understand the purpose of this exercise. He didn't see how the flow of energy was represented by what seemed like a warm-up to exercise.

"While you're doing this, focus on your body. Shut everything else out and be completely aware of where every part of you is, from your chest to your fingertips. I want to be able to snap my fingers without either of you twitching." Dia walked around them in circles. "This isn't about anything except feeling the flow of energy. Try not to think about anything except your presence, alright? It sounds stupid, I know, but awareness is the first step to self control. Ask your sister, Eren, I'm sure she understands this."

Eren frowned. "You know, Mikasa isn't better than me at _everything._"

"Shh. No talking. Focus. You only have to do this for five minutes, okay?" Dia continued watching them from a distance. Armin tried to focus on what he was doing, but couldn't help watching Eren from the corner of his eye.

Eren had become intent on what he was doing, moving quickly and with laser focus. It seemed to Armin he may have been slightly off on the point of the exercise, as his movements were harsh and aggressive. This went on for about two minutes, leaving Armin surprised that he hadn't given himself whiplash yet, before Dia intervened.

She put a hand on his chest, forcing him to stay still. "Eren. Calm down. Your breathing is far too fast, you're going to hurt yourself."

Armin stopped and watched her, fascinated and confused at the same time. Her voice had gotten very soft and calm as she guided Eren's arms to his sides. "Just breathe. Focus on your breathing." She had rested the back of her other hand on the side of Eren's neck, frowning. "You're incredibly tense, Eren. I think I might have misjudged you a little. Your anger really does fuel everything you do."

He visibly tensed and she recoiled. "You're okay. Sit down, Yeager." She gestured for Armin to do the same, and she stepped back and knelt between them. "You were both there when Zingashina fell, weren't you?"

She looked to Armin and he nodded. "It's understandable, then – between there, Trost, and what you've seen on scouting missions, anger and fear are human responses. Okay, this is where we're going to stop today. I have work to do with Hanji Danchou, and you two need to sit here and learn how to breathe – slowly. Come find me at dinner."

She stood and walked out, leaving Eren and Armin kneeling on the dirt floor like the three sets of boots against the wall.


	4. A Person Just Gone

"You look tired."

Hanji sat behind Erwin's desk. Technically, it was her desk now, Levi thought. He had noticed the dark circles under her eyes become more pronounced since she took over as interim director, and her uncharacteristically slumped posture in the chair was worrisome. The manic energy he was used to had dissipated.

"I feel tired, Levi." She leaned forward, resting her chin on her fingertips. "I never realized how much shit Erwin dealt with until I had to deal with it. My whole life has turned into politics and paperwork." She sighed, standing to her feet. "Moblit's trying to help, but there's only so much we can do. I wasn't exactly prepared for this. My notes from my last experiment with Eren aren't even done. I feel disorganized."

"You look disorganized," Levi remarked, "but not much more than usual."

"You're the pinnacle of encouragement, Ravioli." Hanji sat on the desk, knocking papers to the floor. "I have a system of organization; it's very thorough-"

"Your system of organization involves leaving piles of unrelated papers everywhere." Levi crouched to gather the offending files. He flipped through them. "Shitglasses, what the hell are you doing with your life?"

Hanji leaned forward, strands of hair dangling in her face. "Rude."

"No, really." He sat crosslegged on the floor, handing some of the papers to her. "These aren't even on the same topic. This is titans, this is Yeager, these are expense reports..."

"This is what I'm saying!" She hopped down off the desl. "I don't even know what this stuff is. Some of it – obviously all the titan stuff – is mine, some of it's Erwin's, some of it's yours, I think..."

"None of this is mine." Levi had begun calmly sorting everything, gently taking the papers from Hanji's hands and moving them to their respective piles. "I keep my things organized, in one place. Meaning titans –" he took another paper out of her hand "go with titans. It's not hard."

"How are you so fast?" Hanji had given up, sitting with her hands in her lap, watching Levi work. "Moblit and I couldn't get through this stuff at half of your pace."

"_You _couldn't get through this because you were too focused on reading your project notes. I already had to take pages off of you twice. Moblit was probably too busy trying to keep you focused to do any of his own work."

"I resent that remark."

"You're doing it right now." Levi took another page from her and added it to the stack. "It's just another reason Erwin should be here. You don't want this job, Zoë."

"And you think you should be doing it?" He could hear the betrayal start to form in her voice.

"God, no." Levi practically spit the words out. "You're a thousand times better at it than I am. Erwin should be doing it. I think the Military Police should be leaving us the hell alone."

She visibly relaxed. "You're right. I don't want this job. I have so much work to do – I need new subjects, I haven't really worked with Eren at all, and there's this whole matter with Leonhart to deal with." She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands, pushing her glasses up her nose onto her forehead. "It's not like being Erwin means my other responsibilities are null. God, this is too much for me. I'm good, but this..."

Levi plucked her glasses off her forehead and cleaned the lenses with a pocket cloth. "Hey, now. Don't go fucking up your glasses, you can't see without them. Four-eyed shithead."

She spoke into her hands, voice muffled. "Levi. Come on."

He pulled her face up, trying not to be rough. "Bitchface." He could see the beginning of tears in the corners of her eyes. He slipped her glasses back on. "I'm going to help you, idiot. Starting with this godforsaken hell-hole you call an office. For the love of Maria, Rose, and Sina, woman, how do you function in this place?"

"Big words from a guy with a pasta name." A smirk started to spread across her face.

"See, I was almost worried that you were going to say something about my height, because then –"

"Oh, you're right!" Levi held back a bemused expression as Hanji broke out into a grin. "I almost forgot. You're a pint-sized, pasta-named pipsqueak."

"You are so impressed with yourself for coming up with that."

"I am _so_ impressed with myself for coming up with that!"

"See, I just stick to the basics." A smile teased at the corners of his mouth. "Shitglasses, four-eyes, bitchface... you're the one getting all creative."

"Yeah, are the only pet names you know expletives?"

"Those aren't pet names, they're insults. I'm an asshole."

"Of course you are." Hanji was getting lost in another file. "The worst."

Levi snatched it out of her hands. "Pay attention! You have work to do. Here, organize these expense reports by date." He handed her a stack of papers.

"Why don't I just organize my experiment notes by project?"

"Because you'll just sit there and read them all. Come on, shitglasses, we haven't got all day. Don't you have a meeting?"

"Ugh. I hate these." Hanji made a face. "See, now you really are being an asshole."

" Right, because I'm making you do your job."

"Speaking of assholes. You know it doesn't help me when you fight with Corporal Montgomery."

Levi gave her a sharp look. "The woman's a bitch. I can't help it."

"Oh, really, Mr. Humanity's Strongest? You can't keep it together for a few weeks and deal with a minor irritation?"

"She's not a minor irritation. She's messing up my plans; now I'm going to have to work some inexperienced MP dog into my squad. How many years has it been since she had to use 3D gear?"

"She probably used it back in Stohess."

"That was one time." The fact that his frustration was audible only served to increase it. "She's going to get eaten as soon as she sets foot outside these walls."

"I don't think she's going outside the walls."

That was it. The stony facade broke and Levi's anger showed clearly on his face. "What the hell do you mean, she's not going outside the walls? Why the fuck is she here?"

"I think she's just here to train Eren."

"No. That's fucking preposterous. She can't effectively train someone without ever observing them in the environment where they'll be using those skills; he's going to blank on whatever bullshit she's pushing the instant he's up against a titan."

"I don't know, Levi, why couldn't someone else watch him and report back to her? Arlert, maybe, I think she's going to be taking him on as her lab assistant."

"That is the most idiotic thing I have heard in a long time, and I have to walk around listening to your titan science and Yeager's titan nonsense."

"You have to give it a shot." Hanji was starting to look frustrated as well. "Damn it, Levi, this isn't up to me! The decision to have her here was made above my head, just like most of the other decisions surrounding Eren. She wasn't kidding when she said she was the only thing standing between Eren and execution, it's not like we have another choice."

"I don't have to like it."

"No, you don't. You're a grown-ass man, and I can't tell you how to feel."

"Speaking of which, she should know better than to come out to the Corps and expect not to leave the walls. How old is she, 30? 29? She looks a little younger than you."

"A little? You're off by like, eight years. She's 22."

"What the _actual fuck,_ Zoë?!"

"Promotions can happen fast in the Police, especially if you're ambitious. I'd like to point out that you've been a Corporal for two years now, and you've only been here for six. She's been around for seven, and if I remember correctly, she just got promoted recently."

"Yes, but I'm the best of the best."

"She's the only one that does what she does."

"What the fuck does she do, anyway?"

"Ravioli, stop swearing. You sound uneducated."

"I _am_ uneducated."

"Yeah, but you don't need to sound like it."

"That didn't answer my question, shitglasses –" There was a rap at the door.

"Hello? Hanji Danchou?"

Hanji waved Levi up, pointing to a chair and telling him to sit. She walked over to the door, pulling it open and revealing the slight figure of Corporal Montgomery. "You're ready to see me, right?"

Hanji brushed her bangs back, smiling. "Lydia! Yeah, come in. You've already met Lance Corporal Levi."

"Unfortunately." Her stare was ice-cold. Levi swore her presence alone brought the temperature down a few degrees.

"No fighting in my office." Hanji closed the door and gestured for Lydia to sit down. She didn't.

"It's good to see you again, Hanji." Lydia smiled at Hanji. "It's been a while. We have to make time to talk outside of work."

"Of course. Please, sit down." Hanji took a seat behind the desk. Levi watched her carefully – she really did seem comfortable around Lydia, surprisingly enough. Even more surprising was the fact that Lydia seemed to hold no animosity toward Hanji, even wanting to spend time with her outside of the interactions required by their jobs.

"I'm fine, thank you." Levi looked her over. He had to admit, he was impressed with how impeccable she kept her uniform. Everything was crisp angles; the only thing out of the ordinary was a small locket she kept dangling below her collar. Her hair and nails were no exception. She wore her 3D gear even in the building – odd, but it was clean and well-maintained. He grimaced when he got to her feet, though – she had no shoes on.

"Montgomery, where are your boots?" He tried to regain his monotone. "You had them earlier."

"I don't wear shoes unless I need to. They break connection with the ground." She looked down at her nails. Levi was beginning to sense a pattern – she was constantly staring at her hands when she didn't want to look at someone. "Why, does it bother you?"

"Yes, actually. I put a lot of effort into keeping this place clean. You're going to track dirt from the basement everywhere."

"I'm not going to track dirt everywhere. It doesn't rain in the basement. The floor is packed."

"You have dirt on your feet. And your pants – they're white, so don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Don't look at my ass."

Hanji slammed a hand on the desk. "What did I say about fighting in my office?" Levi looked away and Lydia bit her lip. "Thank you. I have to meet with you two to discuss how this whole situation with Yeager is going to work. Lydia, as you know, Levi has been given responsibility for Eren and for keeping his titan under control in case of emergency. He had to do it once already, in Stohess."

"I was there." God, her voice was like listening to a frozen river break apart. Grating as hell.

Hanji ignored her and continued. "However, Lydia has been given the authority to personally train Eren, and I think she has a timeline she's working with, correct?"

Hanji looked to Lydia for an answer. The corporal gave a curt nod. "We have to meet again in Sina four weeks from today."

Levi picked up on the panic that registered across Hanji's face. "Wow, that is not a lot of time. What kind of results are they expecting?"

"I don't know. He has further to go than I suggested in my initial report. I overestimated his control."

"Bit of a spitfire, that kid." Hanji remarked.

"His blonde friend is a genius. They both have so much potential. I think I can make some progress in a month, but I need all the time I can get with them. I had planned five hours a day, but –"

"Zo- Commander Hanji." The words stuck in Levi's teeth. "I understand the time constraints, but I still have to integrate Yeager into my squad. Five hours a day is a bit excessive for talk therapy."

"Five hours isn't nearly enough, considering how much work I have to do. Yeager is all that's left of your squad; I think you can wait."

The silence was deafening. Hanji stiffened, waiting to break up the inevitable fight. Lydia just stared at her nails.

It was Levi that moved first. He stood to his feet, straightened the chair, and started organizing Hanji's files again. His hands shook, betraying the pain and anger he wanted to hide. He saw Lydia staring at her hands again. Hanji scowled at her, and Levi could guess that her thoughts were too disorganized to say something right away.

It was Hanji that finally broke the silence, her voice sharp and unforgiving. "Corporal Montgomery, you are not permitted to antagonize or provoke Corporal Levi at any time. It is unprofessional and unbecoming of your rank and position. If it happens again, you will be formally disciplined; do you understand?"

Lydia nodded briefly. She swallowed, looked at the door. Levi didn't know why he was watching her, but he had to know her reaction. If he looked away, she could do something, say something without him knowing and he couldn't bear to be blindsided. Lydia had already thrown him out of control once; if she did it again, he couldn't predict how he would react.

Hanji spoke again. "So, Montgomery, how many hours a day do you want?"

"Eight." Her narrow shoulders had curved inward, and she held her arms close to her body. "I need eight hours a day with Yeager and three more with Arlert, and I need to work with Ackerman on the weekends."

"Fine." Hanji stood to her feet. "You're dismissed."

Wordlessly and without looking up, Lydia left, closing the door silently behind her.

Hanji immediately jumped down next to Levi.

"Oh, god, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't –"

Levi held up a hand, almost as if to shush her. "No. It's not you. It's not even her, it's me. It shouldn't bother me anymore, not like it does. People die all the time out here."

"I know, but it was your squad. You cared about those people."

"No more than I care about anyone else."

Hanji pulled his face up, forcing him to look at her. "Don't you dare lie to me, Lasagna."

He grabbed her hand, white-knuckled, still shaking. "Then let's pretend she didn't say anything, because I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it." He ignored the concern in her eyes, muttering "as if the nightmares weren't enough."

Without warning, Hanji pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his hair and whispering "I know" over and over again. Levi wasn't sure who she was trying to console, but it helped. Regardless, he leaned his head into her shoulder, allowing the embrace, gripping her hand as tightly as he could, trying to blink back tears.

When they finally separated, Levi stood, fixing his hair and dusting off his uniform. "I have work to do. I need to put together a squad and start training them. Send someone for me if you need anything."

He turned and left, limping along the hallway, trying to forget.

**Hey hey hi!**

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**Super long chapter this week. Lots of levihans for you!**

**Enjoy, and feel free to get in touch!**

**~ 3 ~**

**wordsmith**


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